If you’re new to WordPress then this is probably one of the first questions that come in your mind. In this article, we’ll introduce you to both so you can choose the best solution for your website.
WordPress.com
WordPress.com is a hosted solution for web publishing. Meaning that you can create and manage your website without worrying about hosting, backups, security, and other technicalities.
WordPress.com is free but have paid plans that include some additional features.
The great thing about WordPress.com is that it is scalable. If Kanye West retweets a link to your blog post, his army of followers will not shut your site down.
One of the downsides of using WordPress.com though is that you can’t use custom themes. But there are many great free and paid themes to choose from.
Another downside is that you can’t use custom plugins too. It may sound like a bad thing, but it really isn’t because all the essential features like analytics, social sharing, and many other are supported out-of-the-box.
Why use self-hosted version then? Read on.
WordPress.org
WordPress.org, on the other hand, is a website where you can get a copy of WordPress to install on your own server. It is also a home of all free themes and plugins.
The main difference of self-hosted version is that you need to get a server and setup WordPress yourself or hire somebody to do it for you. You’ll also need to think about backups and security.
This may sound like a scary thing, but there are many good hosting companies that provide great out-of-the-box solutions.
The main benefit of using a self-hosted version is that you get full control over your website. Nobody will shut you down because of any policy changes or anything else.You are also free to use any themes and plugins. You can even create your own.
You are also free to use any themes and plugins. You can even create your own from scratch and run them on your website.